Pathfinder Player Companion: Animal Archive (PFRPG)

From a witch’s black cat to a ranger’s mighty wolf companion or a cavalier’s noble steed, animals have always had a place in fantasy adventuring—but why should only a few classes have all the fun? With the proper training, animals can be invaluable allies for adventurers of all stripes. Whether you’re a scholarly spellcaster looking for a familiar to deliver spells or help turn the pages of your spellbook, or a brawler ready to lead your armored animal into the thick of battle, this book is a treasure trove of rules and advice aimed at helping you and your animal friends get the most out of your fantastic adventures.

Animal Archive presents a player-focused, in-depth discussion of animals and the various roles they can play in your game. Each Pathfinder Player Companion includes new options and tools for every Pathfinder RPG player. Inside this book, you’ll find:

A complete list of every familiar in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, to make choosing yours quick and convenient.

New archetypes like the mad dog barbarian or carnivalist rogue to help classes that haven’t traditionally used animals work with their bestial allies, as well as tips on how every class can employ animals.

New animal companions and familiars, from innocuous squirrels and rabbits to bizarre platypuses, armored armadillos, and powerful pandas.

Information on which animals are closely associated with the various races and deities of the Pathfinder campaign setting.

Tons of new tricks and feats to customize your animals, plus archetypes for animal companions and familiars.

New animal equipment, spells, magic items, information about the personalities of magically intelligent animals, and more!

Each monthly 32-page Pathfinder Player Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume’s theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for all types of characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.

Since not all small cats are cheetahs, will this book offer some different abilities for different varieties of the standard animal companions? Say the difference between a cheetah, a lynx, and a mountain lion?

This sounds good. I just hope we get information, however brief, on various breeds of dogs, horses, and the like in this.

If you are looking for especially some differences to mundane breed differences you should also take a look at Phantasia Zoologica Volume 1 - Cats, Dogs, and Horses. It is a pretty good book with some variety to breeds and such by 4WFG, End and I both did reviews of it. In case you are curious about what all is in it and it fits what you are looking for.

Not to take away from this product, which I plan to get too. Just pointing out the 3pp one that covers some animals already out. So you don't have to wait till Dec. :)

Excited about it, but fearing that the speciality of existing classes is lost/blurred/smeared all over every other class.
Every class can get an AC. Seriously? Will we see a companion about magical/divine healing and how your average BSF can get it too?

Yeah. Ever since I played Dragon Age Origins, I wanted to run a Fighter with decent war dog companion. Of course, there are ways to achieve something like that, such as Awaken in combination with Leadership, but you have to wait until 7th level. I love this idea.

I really like how the Player Companion line's shaping up. Very cool stuff Paizo.

Yay! Just wait till you see it! Varisia just landed on my desk earlier this week and Knights is about to go out the door and oh boy am I pleased with these. And the stuff I'm REALLY excited about is still on the horizon!